Enhancement of Antibacterial Activity in NiTi Based Shape Memory Alloy Produced by Additive Manufacturing

Abstract Superelastic NiTi (Nitinol) alloy is a smart material applied in the biomedical sector for devices, such as stents, implants and orthodontic wires. Nevertheless, after surgery, one of the major causes of failure, which requires the explantation of the device, is linked to bacterial infections. Therefore, development of antibacterial materials becomes an important task in the biomedical field. In this light, the present study investigates the integration of pseudoelasticity of Nitinol withan antibacterial response for realizing advanced implantable devices.